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BETTER FRUIT 



FARMERS 



Orders placed now 

 deliveries 

 will be insured 



\ 



x. 



Ctevelani 



all admit that the greater part of 

 farm work — discing, harrowing, cul- 

 tivating, seeding, manure spreading, 

 etc., must "be done on 

 plowed or soft ground — 

 also in plowing the low 

 soft spots and hill- 

 sides must be consid- 

 ered. 



Then in orchard work 

 another requirement en- 

 ters — making short 

 turns--working close to trees and 

 under low limbs. 

 All of these requirements are met by the 



CleveUuul Trcuitors 



McNef f Tractor Company 



NORTHWEST DISTRIBUTORS 



DUDLEY BUILDING PITTOCK BLOCK 



Yakima, Wash. 



Portland, Oregon 



holds, in that 11.4 boxes were secured 

 in the former case versus only 8.8 for 

 the latter. 



These differences are due not so much 

 to the amount of bloom appearing in 

 the different blocks as to the fact that 

 the former made more effective use of 

 the bloom than the latter. Were we to 

 compare yields from the standpoint of 

 one equivalent percentage of bloom, say 

 100%, we should find differences are 

 marked in favor of the heavier applica- 

 tions. Under these special conditions, 

 namely, trees much lacking in vitality 

 and productive power due to lack of 

 cover crops and irrigation, there is no 

 question but that trees are able to util- 

 ize heavy applications of nitrate at least 

 for the first two years, after which the 

 need of additional fertilizer will vary 

 according to the subsequent soil treat- 

 ment, irrigation and vigor of tree. The 

 grower will be interested in knowing 

 further that in the orchard where clover 

 has been turned under and in the other 

 where alfalfa has been growing for sev- 

 eral years nitrated plats gave increased 

 yields not so much because of better 

 iiloom on an average, but because of 

 greatly increased efficiency of the tree 

 to set its fruit and produce larger sizes. 

 The importance of knowing when to 

 apply nitrate is obvious. When nitrate 

 work was started at Hood River in 1914 

 it was observed that trees receiving a 

 late application did not make much re- 

 sponse until nearly the end of the same 

 growing season. Such applications did 

 not appear to materially influence the 

 set of fruit that year. In 1917 a number 



of experiments bearing upon this point 

 were performed. For the work four- 

 teen-year-old Spitzenburgs and New- 

 towns were chosen. Owing to the lack 

 of previous irrigation and clean cul- 

 tural methods over a protracted period 

 the trees were badly devitalized and in 

 need of artificial stimulation of this 

 kind. Each variety was divided into 

 five different plats, each of which re- 

 ceived 3% pounds of nitrate per tree. 

 However, each plat represented appli- 

 cations two weeks apart, ranging in 

 dates from March 6 to May 7, when first 

 and last applications were made. Per- 

 centages of fruit set were taken July 25, 

 after the so-called "June drop" was 

 past. It will be recalled that the blos- 

 som season in 1917 was extremely late. 

 As may be expected, fruit continued to 

 drop after this date, but the percentages 

 given bear a fairly close relation to 

 yields secured. Newtowns receiving the 

 early application of nitrate not only 

 showed better foliage during the early 

 season, but 50.1% of the blossoms set 

 fruit. Percantages for the other tests, 

 ranging in order of application, are 

 46.4%., 42.5%., (no record), and only 

 32.2% for those trees fertilized May 7. 

 Spitzenburgs also showed better colored 

 foliage where receiving early applica- 

 tions. The first trees to receive nitrate 

 show 43.6% set. The other plats show 

 46.9%, 34.1%, 33.6% and 21.2% respec- 

 tively, the last figure being associated 

 with trees fertilized May 7. The econ- 

 omic importance of early applications 

 in both cases is thus quite evident, espe- 

 cially in point of yields. The early 



December 



fertilized Newtowns averaged 7.9 and 

 Spitzenburgs 10.8 loose boxes per tree, 

 versus only 2.2 and 1.2 boxes for late 

 applications. 



The grower who uses nitrate on 

 Spitzenburgs or other colored varieties 

 finds greatest difiiculty in securing both 

 size and good color of fruit. Since 

 clover has been turned under in one of 

 the orchards studied there has been 

 much evidence of over-stimulation, 

 especially where nitrate was also used. 

 However, it is fair to say that heavy 

 pruning and irrigation have also been 

 contributing factors. These are the 

 points which the grower himself must 

 work out under his own conditions. 

 On light soils one may use both nitrate 

 and manurial crops with comparative 

 safety, and in many cases it may be 

 necessary, but where heavy soils pre- 

 vail extreme caution is urged in their 

 use. Here again the grower must de- 

 cide how much in the way of color he 

 can afford to sacrifice in order to secure 

 increased size and incidentally in- 

 creased yields. With Newtowns of 

 course the problem is comparatively 

 simple, since the trees are capable of 

 receiving fairly heavy nitrogenous 

 stimulus from time to time and profit 

 from the experience in heavy crops and 

 large sized fruit. On the other hand, 

 it appears that the long continued use 

 of alfalfa as a permanent shade crop is 

 more compatible with results sought. 

 This crop seems to exert a steadying 

 influence in avoiding extremes in tree 

 growth and lends itself to good red 

 color, but often sizes run small. It 

 seems clear that on many soils trees in 

 alfalfa can be with profit further stimu- 

 lated with nitrate or similar nitrogenous 

 fertilizer. Here again the question of 

 soils plays an important part. On the 

 heavier types one must be very careful 

 not only in the use of nitrate, but also 

 with reference to irrigation, pruning or 

 cultivation. 



By special request I am appending 

 before closing a few further remarks 

 regarding the growing of alfalfa in our 

 orchards. In my judgment there is no 

 intercrop for the orchard which has so 

 much to commend it as this one. It 

 produces an immense mass of organic 

 matter, both above and below ground. 

 It is unsurpassed as a soil renovator. 

 It breaks up bardpan and permits of 

 soil aeration. It is stated on good au- 

 thority that the New Jersey Experiment 

 Station has found that the amounts of 

 plant food gathered by a test acre of 

 alfalfa in two years were equivalent in 

 nitrogen to 2500 pounds of nitrate of 

 soda, in phosphoric acid to 600 pounds 

 of bone black super-phosphate, and in 

 potash to 1200 pounds of muriate of 

 potash. 



That alfalfa is filling the bill at Hood 

 River is emphasized by the fact that in 

 most orchards it is now well estab- 

 lished. I believe, however, that many 

 mistakes are being made in handling 

 this crop. In the first place, it is often 

 sown upon a poor seed bed, in that 

 weeds or perennial grasses have not 

 been properly suppressed or the ground 

 has not been properly worked. The 

 result is often a poor stand, which in 



